Asus Zenfone 3

Horrible phone – Horrible phone. After upgrading, back camera stops working. And wifi keeps dropping off. Asus support could not provide any useful information except resetting to factory default. Will not buy any ASUS phone anymore.  Show details

still loving this! – This phone is plainly and absolutely fantastic! The RAM fits my needs, sometimes I had to run simultaneous apps in one go and I encountered no problem at all. The memory is too plenty for me so i don't see buying myself an extra memeory although I think this phone is expandable.

This thing blows every other sub-$200 smartphone out of the water – After being thoroughly impressed with a family member's ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1, I decided to buy myself another model in the Zenfone family to replace two spare phones I'd been using since my Moto G4 Plus died earlier in 2019. My research led me to the Zenfone 3 (ZE552KL). It's an older model in the Zenfone series (first released in 2016),… Read more

but it's still available from a number of online sellers. Almost every smartphone I've bought has been at least a couple of years behind the latest and greatest, mainly because I'm cheap.

Despite being a 2016 model, the Zenfone 3 came with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. My understanding is that ASUS is not planning any further updates to the Zenfone 3 ... but given that one of the spare phones I was using still runs KitKat, I'm not complaining.

The model I bought has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It also supports dual SIM _OR_ an external microSD card (but not both at the same time). I knew this when I went into this purchase, as I need a dual SIM phone and I can't see myself needing more than 64GB of storage any time soon. Interestingly, SIM 1 is a micro SIM and SIM 2 is a nano SIM. This works out great for me, as I only needed to replace one of my SIMs.

Battery life is great. I've been getting around two days between charges, and I'd describe my use as light-moderate (a few phone calls, a bit of Spotify, the odd YouTube video etc).

The camera is very nice. Still shots are clear, video works well and 4K is a pleasant surprise in such an inexpensive phone ... which leads me to the best part of the Zenfone 3. It feels a lot more expensive than it is. The screen is crisp and clear with good resolution. The Gorilla Glass doesn't just sit on top of the screen; the whole body is wrapped in the stuff. In Sapphire Black (which is really a stunning shade of very dark blue), it looks very smart indeed. The USB-C charging port also gives the impression of this year's flagship smartphone rather than last year's midrange phone that is this year's bargain bin special.

As the phone has 4GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 625 Octacore CPU, it feels quite responsive. That said, it'd feel more responsive with stock Android on it ... which leads me to the only real negative of this phone. ASUS has its own user interface on top of Android (ZenUI), which brings with it a bunch of bloatware apps that seem unnecessary. Most users would probably cope with this ... but if this bothers you and you don't want to risk voiding your warranty by modding your phone, look at other models in the Zenfone range (such as the Max Pro M1, which runs stock Android and is a brilliant phone).

My opinion on ZenUI aside, the Zenfone 3 is incredible value for money. If you've got a strict sub-$200 budget for your next smartphone, you can either buy something from a local store and be a bit disappointed about how plasticky and/or laggy it is, or you can order one of these bad boys from overseas and feel like a baller.

Loving it – Coming off a Sony flagship which died after 10 months, I was a bit worried if a mid range phone will last. I have been using it for 1.5 years now. Its still running strong I like the fingerprint scanner, it's spot on everytime The camera is good in daylight but low night condition creates a lot of noise. I had lagging and missing seconds… Read more

issue before while taking video but later find out it's the SD card issue

The screen is good i put it on auto and it's quick to adjust the brightness.

it handles most of the apps or games pretty well without heat up issue until i started playing PUBG. As it's a mid range phone, i don't expect it to be good for hard core gaming but it does show some lag and slow to respond at times.

I think it could be my problem as some apps they don't show the notifications. I have been searching but can't work it out

It comes with a free plastic case which fits my taste

no other issue. it's solid, good looking

But i want a zenfone 5. Probably wait for zenfone 6 as my phone is still strong and reliable

Still happy with my good old Zenfone, years later! – Bought this phone around a year ago and still love using it today. Only cost around $350, which at the time was cheaper than the cost of an iPhone SE. This phone beat the pants off the SE in every single way, so decided to buy it. This was the phone that converted me over to the android camp. Even managed to move my mum over to an android as well.… Read more

Nice big screen, long battery life and just runs well!

Edit: 2 years later, still a beautiful phone.

If Jesus was a phone – I bought this phone on a whim as I broke my Samsung by sitting on it (I've since then being dieting). My brother recommended this phone as he said it was amazing. I dropped it into my toilet half a year after having it whilst "dropping my kids off at the pool". The screen wouldn't turn on so I tried to dry it out in rice for a day or so. It still… Read more

wouldn't seem to turn on so the only reasonable solution was to get in debt to buy an iPhone to fit in with the crowd and get more likes on my Instagram pictures because my Snapchats don't look like they've been taken with a shoe. I then find my Asus in the attic, 7 months after it not working and not being dried out properly, and it finally works!!!! I'm now religious because I know there's a MVP of a God out there after that miracle.

I'm now back on my Asus and it is the most durable, and supreme looking phone I've been able to truly not want to throw against a wall.

Great Phone purchase nov 2016 hasnt missed a beat – Great phone, speed A1, fantastic price.very good build and love the glass finish. Recommend cover to protect. Would recommend and i will be buying another Asus in the future. A++++. I dont understand why phone outlets dont sell i bought off ebay and have been very happy with the product.  Show details

Perfect phone! – This phone is amazing. The processor is lightning fast, the battery life is very good compared to other Android phones, the design, the screen, the memory, the price are all great. I have not had a single issue with it so far. Picture and video quality are great too. Highly recommended  Show details

the best phone at its price – Asus has achieved perfect blend of hardware and software with this phone. its snappy zero lag plus I love the zen ui layer over android on it. a treat to use. the build quality far exceeds what you get in competition at this price. snapdragon 630 for this price seems a fair deal.  Show details

Good affordable phone – Upgraded to this from a Nexus 4. Is a very good phone for the price point. Use this as my main camera and takes great quality pictures and videos. Screen is very large and is 1080p resolution. Phone has a sturdy design as my daughter has dropped it many times and it has not caused the screen to crack.Phone also supports band 28 which is the future mobile tower band, so you get the best possible connection all the time.

An excellent phone – An excellent phone and at a very good price. I was looking for a phone which had a good camera together with good operating speeds and battery life and was recommended to get this one. I am pleased that I did. It works well in all repects and is well manufactured.  Show details

Awesome phone but – ... two things: 1. You will drop and smash this phone. It is so slippery with glass on both sides. 2. I've found the touchscreen a little too sensitive. Eg. A single drop of rain will register as user input, or I can feel it going off in my pocket. Minor complaints. This phone is great.  Show details

This is perfect! – I was looking for the best phone for me across all android phones. I read so many reviews to find the qualities i was looking for. I needed a great camera, fast speed, size that is not too big for my palm, sleek design and interface and expandable memory and great value for it's price. Well I found all these in this phone. I have been using this for 6 months now and i've never encountered any issues so far!:)  Show details

Good solid phone – I bought this phone in January. Holds battery for a few days (4-5) under low usage. I would like to have more built-in application as some basic ones were missing such as Calendar. It is a stable phone, my husband also uses ASUS. The camera is good and produces decent quality pictures. Will consider Asus again as a brand for my next phone.  Show details

no support in australia – wifi hot spot wont work 95% of the time ,bluetooth tethering share internet connection wont work 95% of the time. A google search will tell you this is a well known issue, so asus are well aware of the problems .i have had it working so its not me its a poor quality phone and you get what you pay for i would say  Show details

Great design and great value – Asus is famout to make phones with great design. This is no exception. Beautiful colour and glass construction. Asus operating system is also not bad. There are few hiccups though when running demanding apps. Overall, it's a great value for money sort of phone. It comes in different colour options. It is not in competition with big guys like iPhone, galaxy S series but if you want to buy mid-range and affordable phone, then consider this phone.  Show details

Good handset with plenty of grunt – I have been a dedicated iPhone user since their inception, but getting frustrated that after 2 years they all start to swell & push the front glass out. Apple's attitude is that after 2 years you should replace....all well for them when each of my handsets cost me over $1k each. The ASUS one is a 3rd of the price with 64gb built in & can take a 256gb MicroSD. Functions very well & quick. Definitely recommend.  Show details

The best android phone i ever had – Had this phone for 3 months so far. It is so great with 4GB RAM and 64GB Storage. That i don't need to worry about putting another MicroSD card for extra storage, 64GB is plenty for me. Comes with latest Android 7.0 with 4GB of RAM this phone is so quick when switching between apps. Playing games are much smoother then my previous Zenfone2… Read more

Laser (3GB/32GB). This fantastic USB type C charging port is so smart that you don't have to worry about orientation of the charging port when plug in to this 2Amp quick charger. 5.2" Full HD ISP screen is so sharp with beautiful color. Love the finger print scanner for quick access to the phone and security. Laser guild is so cool when doing a fast focusing photos, it comes with Laser ruler app that able to measures up to 150cm in length. Double taping to the screen for waking up or go sleep mode is so convenience that I don't have to use Power Bottom that often now.

Lastly i love the size of the phone which is perfect for handling and light weight. I had tried many different screen size phone from 4.3" , 5" , 5.5" and 6", finally i found this zenfone 3 5.2" is the best for carrying a phone.

Surprisingly good phone! – I bought Asus ZenFone 3 instead of Nexus 5 and I was afraid I may regret. The price was much better and the options were quite good. For my surprise ZenFone 3 grabbed me from the first glance. The design is stunning, bright and crisp display, brilliant camera for this price. I even received an upgrade to Android 7 which is pretty awesome!  Show details

Asus Zenfone 3 is Amazing – I bought the Asus Zenfone 3 off Kogan a couple months ago. I am very impressed with the phone it self. The all glass design feels very premium in the hand and for the mid range pricing it is a very good option. The only issue is the lack of quality cases for the device.  Show details

good value – This phone is very good value for the quality of hardware. It is probably the best phone in this range of price. Very sexy design. Love the shiny back of the phone, however must be used carefully to keep it sexy. Software has been up-to-dated surprisingly , so very smooth and functional.  Show details

A nice looking phone, with good specs but – I purchases my phone overseas so I took a bit of a chance but the specs on this phone looked good. I have been using this phone for 2 months now with a Telstra plan. It has plenty of good qualities but my biggest complaint is that here is no support at all from ASUS. For a start the phone does not support a copy and paste function which is… Read more

frustrating when messaging. Also the phone does not support internet if used as a mobile hotspot. If you look on the web these are not isolated problems with the Zenfone, and there are many posts in regard to this. It wouldn't matter if ASUS would do something about rectifying the problem however they just do not get back to you. .

Hope fully they may be resolved in the next software update but who would know.

Great phone for the price – I purchased this phone online for (just) under $400 and, for the price, it is excellent! Pro's: Outstanding battery life, Great screen, Nice camera, Excellent sound through headphones, Decent bundled earbuds, Snappy and responsive interface. Battery life even better after Nougat update. Not so good: Only ordinary sound quality on… Read more

phone calls.

A few bugs & spelling mistakes through the OS.

Doesn't always auto-focus when shooting video (fixed by using a free 3rd part app from the Play Store).

The phone is really, really slippery - it's been dropped or fallen out of my pocket many times. Still works perfectly though, so it must be sturdy and well made!

I would certainly recommended this phone

Simply Perfect – My Second ASUS, 1st was ZENFONE 2 Innovative stylish and EXTREMELY reliable had all the features ever needed in phone. Still using it; Now have upgraded to ZENFONE 3 Both phones purchased online from international outlets (Where I have always purchased my Unlocked phones) and dual sims. The idea of purchasing locked phones is senseless, how can… Read more

you really compare TELCOS under locked contract. That's another story.

ZENFONE 3 Ultra the model description says it ALL, 4K video upscaling a good sound system for a phone 13mp front camera (for selfies) 28mp rear camera. Storage/memory let me say; So expandable that the memory card cradle can also be used for second 4g NETWORK, you only need SD card if you want to send card to someone else. Ease of operation definitely User-friendly. Asus also have their own social network "ZENCIRCLE" where you can post your pics and chat with friends whom use Asus phones the network is much better than that other one which everyone uses (and has passed its "USE BY DATE" that's another story to.

Purchased one of these for friend who was an Iphone user, and fully capable of using the computing side of phone to full advantage; her response was How bad was I-P6s compared to Asus she will never go back to I-P

To finish up

Get yourself an zenny you won't be sad.

Excellent value – I had to buy this from eBay once it was released as its not sold in stores in Australia, but its been an excellent smartphone. The only issue I had was that the alarm doesn't always go off so I use a separate free app for that, but I have more memory than I need, and the prices have gone down even more since I bought it. I chose the 64 gig model… Read more

however the 32 gig would have been sufficient for me, I have dual SIM functionality as well as a very thin light phone for 500 dollars, they are now closer to 400. I had to change the initial language from Taiwanese to English which was very easy, and the included power adapter wasn't very reliable so I replaced it with a 5 dollar one which works perfectly. A friend of mine has since bought the 32 gig version and loves it.

great phone, great value – Just received 2 Asus Zenphones 3 ZE552KL, one for my wife and one for me to replace our ever faithful old Nokias that only operate on 2G only , i was looking for twin sim as well but they seem rare in Australia unless you buy a grey import like the ASUS zenphone. Very comparable with the top phones such as iphone which i would never buy again… Read more

and Samsung.

Haven't explored all the features of the ASUS phone but i do have an ASUS phone/tablet which is similar in operation . i have had quite a few ASUS products like motherboards and laptops and have always been very satisfied with them.

The only critical thing i have found is the Zenphone 3 is much more slippery in the hand (looks good and shiny until it hits the floor) or even putting it down on a surface it will tend to slide . Be damn careful with it and buy a cover on ebay for it.

As i explore it capabilities i will find more to comment on no doubt and would certainly recommend it.